GENE EXPRESSION PATTERNS
AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Description
Audience
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Abstracting and Indexing
Editorial Board
Guide for Authors
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ISSN: 1567-133X
DESCRIPTION
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Gene Expression Patterns is devoted to the rapid publication of high quality studies of gene expression
in development. Studies using cell culture are also suitable if clearly relevant to development, e.g.,
analysis of key regulatory genes or of gene sets in the maintenance or differentiation of stem cells.
Key areas of interest include: In-situ studies such as expression patterns of important or interesting
genes at all levels, including transcription and protein expression Temporal studies of large gene
sets during development Transgenic studies to study cell lineage in tissue formationGene Expression
Patterns currently has a time to first decision of 3 weeks and had over 200,000 downloads in 2014.
AUDIENCE
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All scientists working in the fields of cell biology, developmental biology, molecular genetics and
differentiation.
IMPACT FACTOR
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2015: 1.485 © Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports 2016
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ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING
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BIOBASE
BIOSIS
Biochemistry and Biophysics Citation Index
Biological & Agricultural Index
Chemical Abstracts
MEDLINE®
EMBASE
Genetics Abstracts
Pascal et Francis (INST-CNRS)
Biological Abstracts
Current Awareness in Biological Sciences
BIOSIS Previews
Scopus
Science Citation Index Expanded
EMBiology
EDITORIAL BOARD
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Editor-in-Chief:
David Wilkinson, The Francis Crick Institute, London, England, UK
Editors:
Mary Dickinson, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
Christian Klaembt, Institut für Neurobiologie, Münster, Germany
Fumio Matsuzaki, RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, Kobe, Japan
Roberto Mayor, University College London (UCL), London, UK
Didier Stainier, Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim, Germany
Editorial Board:
Shinichi Aizawa, Center for Development Biology, (CDB), Chuou-ku, Kobe, Japan
Miguel Allende, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Paola Bovolenta, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Marianne Bronner, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Miguel Concha, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Sally Dunwoodie, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Oliver Hobert, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Philip Ingham, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
Naihe Jing, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
Ryoichiro Kageyama, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Robb Krumlauf, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Kenji Matsuno, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
Jocelyn McDonald, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA
Anming Meng, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Rakesh Mishra, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
Cecilia Moens, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Denise Montell, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
Xavier Neto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Sao Paulo, Brazil
Christof Niehrs, Institute of Molecular Biology, Mainz, Germany
Angela Nieto, Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, San Juan de Alicante, Spain
Nancy Papalopulu, University of Manchester, Manchester, England, UK
Anna Philpott, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Yumiko Saga, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan
Steffen Scholpp, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
Dalit Sela-Donenfeld, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
Sergei Sokol, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
Claudio Stern, University College London (UCL), London, UK
Andrea Streit, King's College London, London, UK
Teruko Taketo, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Naoto Ueno, National Institute for Basic Biology (NIBB), Okazaki, Japan
Stephane Zaffran, INSERM, Marseille, France
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GUIDE FOR AUTHORS
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Your Paper Your Way
We now differentiate between the requirements for new and revised submissions. You may choose to
submit your manuscript as a single Word or PDF file to be used in the refereeing process. Only when
your paper is at the revision stage, will you be requested to put your paper in to a 'correct format'
for acceptance and provide the items required for the publication of your article.
To find out more, please visit the Preparation section below.
Types of paper
The journal publishes only Full length Articles. Due to the nature of data described in GEP papers,
we encourage authors to adopt a short report format with limited amount of text, which should avoid
redundant descriptions and be as concise and clear as possible. There are no limits in number of
figures.
Use the below checklist to ascertain that your manuscript conforms to the criteria required for it to
be suitable for publication, and which are used in the evaluation by the editor and referees. In order
to provide rapid review and publication, only one round of significant revision is allowed.
The study must report new information on one of the following:
The spatial and temporal expression during development of a gene(s) that has potential or known
importance for developmental mechanisms The temporal expression of large gene sets during an
interesting period or process of development Studies of gene expression in cell culture which have
clear developmental relevance Studies of spatial and temporal gene expression must fulfill one of
the following:
It is an analysis of one or more genes in all embryo tissues If a study in a specific developing organ,
it reports expression of several genes, or of a single gene if it has high intrinsic interest It reports
the results of an in situ screen The study must be detailed and with high quality data, such that it
provides a definitive analysis of the sites and timing of gene expression. Studies of many genes, such
as gene families or results of in situ screens, do not require the detailed analysis that is essential
for one or several genes.
For genes already analysed in another species, the study should provide significant new insight, such
as differences in expression or more detailed information that may be functionally important.
There must be sound evidence for the specificity of detection of gene expression, and precise
information provided on the reagents, such as antibody or in situ hybridisation probes. Any functional
speculations should be brief and informative.
Studies using gene regulatory elements or gene knock-ins to drive reporter expression are suitable
if they present a thorough analysis of gene regulatory regions, or report useful tools, such as lines
generated in gene trap screens.
Studies of temporal expression of gene sets must be rigorous, with high quality data, and provide
information important for developmental biologists.
Contact details for submission
Manuscripts for Gene Expression Patterns should be submitted via the journal's online submission
system at http://ees.elsevier.com/gep/.
For questions on the submission and reviewing process, please contact [email protected].
For technical questions, please visit our Support Center. Here you will be able to learn more about
the online submission and editorial system via interactive tutorials, explore a range of problem
solutions via our knowledgebase, and find answers to frequently asked questions. You will also find
our 24/7 support contact details should you need any assistance from one of our customer service
representatives.
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Submission checklist
You can use this list to carry out a final check of your submission before you send it to the journal for
review. Please check the relevant section in this Guide for Authors for more details.
Ensure that the following items are present:
One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details:
• E-mail address
• Full postal address
All necessary files have been uploaded:
Manuscript:
• Include keywords
• All figures (include relevant captions)
• All tables (including titles, description, footnotes)
• Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided
• Indicate clearly if color should be used for any figures in print
Graphical Abstracts / Highlights files (where applicable)
Supplemental files (where applicable)
Further considerations
• Manuscript has been 'spell checked' and 'grammar checked'
• All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the
Internet)
• Relevant declarations of interest have been made
• Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed
• Referee suggestions and contact details provided, based on journal requirements
For further information, visit our Support Center.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Ethics in publishing
Please see our information pages on Ethics in publishing and Ethical guidelines for journal publication.
Human and animal rights
If the work involves the use of human subjects, the author should ensure that the work described has
been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration
of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans; Uniform Requirements for manuscripts submitted to
Biomedical journals. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent
was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must
always be observed.
All animal experiments should comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and should be carried out in
accordance with the U.K. Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986 and associated guidelines, EU
Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments, or the National Institutes of Health guide for the care
and use of Laboratory animals (NIH Publications No. 8023, revised 1978) and the authors should
clearly indicate in the manuscript that such guidelines have been followed.
Declaration of interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations
that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include
employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/
registrations, and grants or other funding. If there are no conflicts of interest then please state this:
'Conflicts of interest: none'. More information.
Submission declaration and verification
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except
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information), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is
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approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was
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verify originality, your article may be checked by the originality detection service CrossCheck.
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Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their
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Only in exceptional circumstances will the Editor consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of
authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the Editor considers the request, publication
of the manuscript will be suspended. If the manuscript has already been published in an online issue,
any requests approved by the Editor will result in a corrigendum.
Article transfer service
This journal is part of our Article Transfer Service. This means that if the Editor feels your article is
more suitable in one of our other participating journals, then you may be asked to consider transferring
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More information.
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Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see
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Find out how you can share your research published in Elsevier journals.
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Elsevier has established a number of agreements with funding bodies which allow authors to comply
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Access Publication Fee. Details of existing agreements are available online.
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This journal offers authors a choice in publishing their research:
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Open access
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Subscription
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Lets others distribute and copy the article, create extracts, abstracts, and other revised versions,
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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)
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This journal has an embargo period of 12 months.
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and more, to ensure that your submission will be the best that you can make it.
Language (usage and editing services)
Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of
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Language Editing service available from Elsevier's WebShop.
Submission
Our online submission system guides you stepwise through the process of entering your article
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the peer-review process. Editable files (e.g., Word, LaTeX) are required to typeset your article for
final publication. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for
revision, is sent by e-mail.
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When invited to do so by the handling editor after the review process, authors are normally expected
to submit a revised version within about 6 months.
Referees
Please submit the names and institutional e-mail addresses of several potential referees. For more
details, visit our Support site. Note that the editor retains the sole right to decide whether or not the
suggested reviewers are used.
Suggested referees must not be from your own institution and must not have collaborated with you
at least during the last five years, and should not already have provided you with comments on the
manuscript. You should indicate the expertise of the referee in relation to the topic of your manuscript.
You may also suggest up to two referees to exclude due to conflicts of interest.
Additional information
One of the terms and conditions of publishing in Mechanisms of Development is that authors be willing
to distribute any materials and protocols used in the published experiments to qualified researchers
for their own use. Materials include but are not limited to cells, DNA, antibodies, reagents, organisms,
and mouse strains, or if necessary the relevant ES cells. These must be made available with minimal
restrictions and in a timely manner. If there are restrictions to the availability of any materials, data,
or information, these must be disclosed in the cover letter of the manuscript at the time of submission.
Data from microarray and other similar screens
Please
see
the
MGED
open
letter
specifying
microarray
standards
at
http://www.mged.org/Workgroups/MIAME/miame_checklist.html. Authors submitting manuscripts
relying on microarray or similar screens must supply the data as Supplementary data (see below) at
the time of submission, along with the completed MIAME checklist. The data must be MIAME-compliant
and supplied in a form that is widely accessible. The microarray data must also be submitted to either
the GEO (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/) or ArrayExpress (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress/)
databases, with accession numbers at or before acceptance of the paper for publication.
The Editors understand that on occasion authors may not feel it appropriate to deposit the entire data
set at the time of publication of this paper. We are therefore willing to consider exceptions to this
requirement in response to a request from the authors, which must be made at the time of initial
submission or as part of an informal pre-submission enquiry.
Mouse gene expression data
Upon acceptance of the manuscript for publication, authors reporting mouse gene expression
data from RNA in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, Northern blot, Western blot and RTPCR experiments are requested to submit the pertinent data to the Mouse Gene Expression
Database (GXD). These submissions will receive accession numbers that must then be
inserted into the manuscript. Please see GXD's guidelines for electronic data submission at
http://www.informatics.jax.org/mgihome//GXD/GEN/gxd_submission_guidelines.shtml.
Gene and protein nomenclature
The journal supports the use of the official nomenclature for genes and proteins and discourages the
use of outdated and incorrectly formatted names and symbols. To this end, we encourage authors
before submission to confirm the current official name and/or symbol for all genes and proteins
mentioned in their articles following the guidelines listed in the following online resources:
Arabidopsis: The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) - nomenclature guidelines
Chicken: Chicken Gene Nomenclature Consortium (CGNC)
Drosophila: FlyBase -nomenclature guidelines
Human: Human Gene Nomenclature Committee (HUGO)
Mouse: Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI) - Mouse nomenclature guidelines
Nematodes: WormBase - nomenclature guidelines
Rat: Rat Genome Database (RGD) - Rat nomenclature guidelines
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Xenopus: Xenbase - Xenopus nomenclature guidelines
Yeast: Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD) - nomenclature guidelines
Zebrafish: ZFIN - Zebrafish nomenclature guidelines
PREPARATION
NEW SUBMISSIONS
Submission to this journal proceeds totally online and you will be guided stepwise through the creation
and uploading of your files. The system automatically converts your files to a single PDF file, which
is used in the peer-review process.
As part of the Your Paper Your Way service, you may choose to submit your manuscript as a single file
to be used in the refereeing process. This can be a PDF file or a Word document, in any format or layout that can be used by referees to evaluate your manuscript. It should contain high enough quality
figures for refereeing. If you prefer to do so, you may still provide all or some of the source files at
the initial submission. Please note that individual figure files larger than 10 MB must be uploaded
separately.
References
There are no strict requirements on reference formatting at submission. References can be in any style
or format as long as the style is consistent. Where applicable, author(s) name(s), journal title/book
title, chapter title/article title, year of publication, volume number/book chapter and the pagination
must be present. Use of DOI is highly encouraged. The reference style used by the journal will be
applied to the accepted article by Elsevier at the proof stage. Note that missing data will be highlighted
at proof stage for the author to correct.
Formatting requirements
There are no strict formatting requirements but all manuscripts must contain the essential elements
needed to convey your manuscript, for example Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and
Methods, Results, Conclusions, Artwork and Tables with Captions.
If your article includes any Videos and/or other Supplementary material, this should be included in
your initial submission for peer review purposes.
Divide the article into clearly defined sections.
Figures and tables embedded in text
Please ensure the figures and the tables included in the single file are placed next to the relevant text
in the manuscript, rather than at the bottom or the top of the file. The corresponding caption should
be placed directly below the figure or table.
Peer review
This journal operates a single blind review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the
editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of
two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible
for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor's decision is final. More
information on types of peer review.
REVISED SUBMISSIONS
However, be aware that neither of these is infallible and you are therefore strongly encouraged to
seek the opinion of a native English-speaking, scientifically trained colleague.
Please use 1.5 line spacing and either Arial or Times Roman font, at least 11 point size.
Use of word processing software
Regardless of the file format of the original submission, at revision you must provide us with an
editable file of the entire article. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting
codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. The electronic text should be prepared
in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts (see also the Guide to Publishing with
Elsevier). See also the section on Electronic artwork.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the 'spell-check' and 'grammar-check'
functions of your word processor.
Article structure
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Subdivision – numbered sections
Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Normally the Introduction should be
Section 1., followed by Results (Section 2), then Discussion (Section 3) and Experimental Procedures
(Section 4). Acknowledgements and References should follow but not be numbered. Subsections
should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section
numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to "the text",
"above", etc.. Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own
separate line.
Introduction
State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate but concise background. Explain why the
study was undertaken and how it is timely and/or novel.
Results
The Results section should be written objectively, free from interpretation. It should be clear and
concise.
Discussion
This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat the Results section. It is
generally appropriate to use this section to relate the results to other published work and to explain
how they differ, or their novelty, as well as how they advance the field. However, it should also be
concise and avoid extensive reference to other work in the authors' laboratory unless directly relevant
to this study. It may be useful to end the Discussion with a very brief Conclusions sub-section of a
single paragraph.
Experimental Procedures
Provide sufficient detail to allow the experiments and results to be reproduced. Methods already
published should be indicated by references to publications where the details may be found: only
relevant departures from published methods should be described.
Theory / calculations / statistical analysis
Where appropriate, a theoretical, mathematical or statistical analysis section may be included. This
should not repeat any material within the rest of the article. If the analysis of the results includes
complex statistical or other mathematical analysis, this should be detailed in this section, which may
be a sub-section of the Experimental Procedures or follow it (as Section 5).
Conclusions
The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, which may stand
alone or form a subsection of a Discussion or Results and Discussion section.
Appendices
These should be avoided unless absolutely essential. If there is a theoretical or mathematical section
and this needs to be substantial then it may be better to inlude it as an Appendix which may be
included in the printed paper or as on-line Supplementary or Supporting Material, at the Handling
Editor's discretion. If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae
and equations in appendices should be given separate numbering: (Eq. A.1), (Eq. A.2), etc.; in a
subsequent appendix, (Eq. B.1) and so forth.
Essential title page information
• Title. Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid
abbreviations and formulae where possible.
• Author names and affiliations. Please clearly indicate the given name(s) and family name(s)
of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. Present the authors' affiliation
addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lowercase superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address.
Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and, if available, the
e-mail address of each author.
• Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing
and publication, also post-publication. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact
details are kept up to date by the corresponding author.
• Present/permanent address. If an author has moved since the work described in the article was
done, or was visiting at the time, a 'Present address' (or 'Permanent address') may be indicated as
a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be
retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.
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Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the
research, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from
the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, but if
essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should
be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
Graphical abstract
Although a graphical abstract is optional, its use is encouraged as it draws more attention to the online
article. The graphical abstract should summarize the contents of the article in a concise, pictorial form
designed to capture the attention of a wide readership. Graphical abstracts should be submitted as a
separate file in the online submission system. Image size: Please provide an image with a minimum
of 531 × 1328 pixels (h × w) or proportionally more. The image should be readable at a size of 5 ×
13 cm using a regular screen resolution of 96 dpi. Preferred file types: TIFF, EPS, PDF or MS Office
files. You can view Example Graphical Abstracts on our information site.
Authors can make use of Elsevier's Illustration and Enhancement service to ensure the best
presentation of their images and in accordance with all technical requirements: Illustration Service.
Highlights
Highlights are mandatory for this journal. They consist of a short collection of bullet points that
convey the core findings of the article and should be submitted in a separate editable file in the
online submission system. Please use 'Highlights' in the file name and include 3 to 5 bullet points
(maximum 85 characters, including spaces, per bullet point). You can view example Highlights on
our information site.
Abbreviations
Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field in a footnote to be placed on the first page
of the article. Such abbreviations that are unavoidable in the abstract must be defined at their first
mention there, as well as in the footnote. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.
Acknowledgements
Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do
not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those
individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance
or proof reading the article, etc.).
Formatting of funding sources
List funding sources in this standard way to facilitate compliance to funder's requirements:
Funding: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant numbers xxxx, yyyy];
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA [grant number zzzz]; and the United States Institutes
of Peace [grant number aaaa].
It is not necessary to include detailed descriptions on the program or type of grants and awards. When
funding is from a block grant or other resources available to a university, college, or other research
institution, submit the name of the institute or organization that provided the funding.
If no funding has been provided for the research, please include the following sentence:
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or
not-for-profit sectors.
Nomenclature and units
Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI).
If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI. You are urged to consult IUPAC:
Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry for further information.
The nomenclature should be the same as that adopted by the major cell/developmental biology
journals (e.g., Cell, Developmental Cell, The EMBO Journal).
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Footnotes
Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article. Many word
processors build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Should this not be the case,
indicate the position of footnotes in the text and present the footnotes themselves separately at the
end of the article.
Artwork
Electronic artwork
General points
• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
• Preferred fonts: Arial (or Helvetica), Times New Roman (or Times), Symbol, Courier.
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Indicate per figure if it is a single, 1.5 or 2-column fitting image.
• For Word submissions only, you may still provide figures and their captions, and tables within a
single file at the revision stage.
• Please note that individual figure files larger than 10 MB must be provided in separate source files.
A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available.
You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
Formats
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please 'save as' or
convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings,
halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):
EPS (or PDF): Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as 'graphics'.
TIFF (or JPG): Color or grayscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF (or JPG): Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF (or JPG): Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale): a minimum of 500 dpi
is required.
Please do not:
• Supply files that are optimized for screen use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low.
• Supply files that are too low in resolution.
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.
Color artwork
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF (or JPEG), EPS (or PDF) or
MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit
usable color figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear
in color online (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) in addition to color reproduction in print. Further
information on the preparation of electronic artwork.
The figures should ideally be 1000 dpi (min. 300dpi).
The figures may be in either RGB or CMYK format. If supplying in RGB format, please check the
typeset proof carefully to ensure the color is an accurate representation of the original figure.
The figures should be the correct size so that no reduction or enlargement has to be carried out.
If this is not possible it is better if the figures are sent 'too large' so that details will not be lost in
the reduction process.
Figure captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure
itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but
explain all symbols and abbreviations used.
Tables
Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables can be placed either next to the
relevant text in the article, or on separate page(s) at the end. Number tables consecutively in
accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be
sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results
described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules and shading in table cells.
References
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Citations in text
Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice
versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal
communications are not allowed in the reference list,and strongly discouraged in the text. If such
references are absolutely essential in the text, evidence must be provided at the time of submission
(by an explicit statement in the covering letter or "manuscript details" during submission) that the
source of the "personal communication" agrees to these data being mentioned by the authors in this
paper. Citation of a reference as "in press" implies that the item has been accepted for publication.
Reference links
Increased discoverability of research and high quality peer review are ensured by online links to
the sources cited. In order to allow us to create links to abstracting and indexing services, such as
Scopus, CrossRef and PubMed, please ensure that data provided in the references are correct. Please
note that incorrect surnames, journal/book titles, publication year and pagination may prevent link
creation. When copying references, please be careful as they may already contain errors. Use of the
DOI is encouraged.
A DOI can be used to cite and link to electronic articles where an article is in-press and full citation
details are not yet known, but the article is available online. A DOI is guaranteed never to change,
so you can use it as a permanent link to any electronic article. An example of a citation using DOI
for an article not yet in an issue is: VanDecar J.C., Russo R.M., James D.E., Ambeh W.B., Franke M.
(2003). Aseismic continuation of the Lesser Antilles slab beneath northeastern Venezuela. Journal
of Geophysical Research, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JB000884. Please note the format of such
citations should be in the same style as all other references in the paper.
Web References
References to personal or institutional web sites are not allowed. Any references to Web sites must
be restricted to on-line resources (such as NLM, GXD, Zfin, EBI, Ensembl, Genbank, etc.) that are
likely to be permanent. The full URL should be given. Web references should not be included in the
reference list but must be embedded in the text.
Data references
This journal encourages you to cite underlying or relevant datasets in your manuscript by citing them
in your text and including a data reference in your Reference List. Data references should include the
following elements: author name(s), dataset title, data repository, version (where available), year,
and global persistent identifier. Add [dataset] immediately before the reference so we can properly
identify it as a data reference. The [dataset] identifier will not appear in your published article.
References in a special issue
Please ensure that the words 'this issue' are added to any references in the list (and any citations in
the text) to other articles in the same Special Issue.
Reference management software
Most Elsevier journals have their reference template available in many of the most popular reference
management software products. These include all products that support Citation Style Language
styles, such as Mendeley and Zotero, as well as EndNote. Using the word processor plug-ins from
these products, authors only need to select the appropriate journal template when preparing their
article, after which citations and bibliographies will be automatically formatted in the journal's style.
If no template is yet available for this journal, please follow the format of the sample references and
citations as shown in this Guide.
Users of Mendeley Desktop can easily install the reference style for this journal by clicking the following
link:
http://open.mendeley.com/use-citation-style/gene-expression-patterns
When preparing your manuscript, you will then be able to select this style using the Mendeley plugins for Microsoft Word or LibreOffice.
Reference formatting
There are no strict requirements on reference formatting at submission. References can be in any style
or format as long as the style is consistent. Where applicable, author(s) name(s), journal title/book
title, chapter title/article title, year of publication, volume number/book chapter and the pagination
must be present. Use of DOI is highly encouraged. The reference style used by the journal will be
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applied to the accepted article by Elsevier at the proof stage. Note that missing data will be highlighted
at proof stage for the author to correct. If you do wish to format the references yourself they should
be arranged according to the following examples:
Reference style
Text: All citations in the text should refer to:
1. Single author: the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of
publication;
2. Two authors: both authors' names and the year of publication;
3. Three or more authors: first author's name followed by 'et al.' and the year of publication.
Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references should be listed first
alphabetically, then chronologically.
Examples: 'as demonstrated (Allan, 2000a, 2000b, 1999; Allan and Jones, 1999). Kramer et al.
(2010) have recently shown ....'
List: References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if
necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by
the letters 'a', 'b', 'c', etc., placed after the year of publication.
Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J.A.J., Lupton, R.A., 2010. The art of writing a scientific article. J. Sci.
Commun. 163, 51–59.
Reference to a book:
Strunk Jr., W., White, E.B., 2000. The Elements of Style, fourth ed. Longman, New York.
Reference to a chapter in an edited book:
Mettam, G.R., Adams, L.B., 2009. How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: Jones, B.S.,
Smith , R.Z. (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age. E-Publishing Inc., New York, pp. 281–304.
Reference to a website:
Cancer Research UK, 1975. Cancer statistics reports for the UK. http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/
aboutcancer/statistics/cancerstatsreport/ (accessed 13.03.03).
Reference to a dataset:
[dataset] Oguro, M., Imahiro, S., Saito, S., Nakashizuka, T., 2015. Mortality data for Japanese oak
wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions. Mendeley Data, v1. https://doi.org/10.17632/
xwj98nb39r.1.
Journal abbreviations source
Journal names should be abbreviated according to the List of Title Word Abbreviations.
Supplementary Material
GEP accepts electronic supplementary material to support and enhance your published paper.
Supplementary files offer the author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications,
movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips and more.
Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article
in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com/. In order to ensure
that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data are provided in one of
our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together
with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. Video files: please
supply a 'still' with each of your files: you can choose any frame from the video or make a
separate image. These will be used instead of standard icons and will personalize the link to your
supplementary information. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages
at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
RESEARCH DATA
This journal encourages and enables you to share data that supports your research publication
where appropriate, and enables you to interlink the data with your published articles. Research data
refers to the results of observations or experimentation that validate research findings. To facilitate
reproducibility and data reuse, this journal also encourages you to share your software, code, models,
algorithms, protocols, methods and other useful materials related to the project.
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Below are a number of ways in which you can associate data with your article or make a statement
about the availability of your data when submitting your manuscript. If you are sharing data in one of
these ways, you are encouraged to cite the data in your manuscript and reference list. Please refer to
the "References" section for more information about data citation. For more information on depositing,
sharing and using research data and other relevant research materials, visit the research data page.
Data linking
If you have made your research data available in a data repository, you can link your article directly to
the dataset. Elsevier collaborates with a number of repositories to link articles on ScienceDirect with
relevant repositories, giving readers access to underlying data that give them a better understanding
of the research described.
There are different ways to link your datasets to your article. When available, you can directly link
your dataset to your article by providing the relevant information in the submission system. For more
information, visit the database linking page.
For supported data repositories a repository banner will automatically appear next to your published
article on ScienceDirect.
In addition, you can link to relevant data or entities through identifiers within the text of your
manuscript, using the following format: Database: xxxx (e.g., TAIR: AT1G01020; CCDC: 734053;
PDB: 1XFN).
Mendeley data
This journal supports Mendeley Data, enabling you to deposit any research data (including raw and
processed data, video, code, software, algorithms, protocols, and methods) associated with your
manuscript in a free-to-use, open access repository. During the submission process, after uploading
your manuscript, you will have the opportunity to upload your relevant datasets directly to Mendeley
Data. The datasets will be listed and directly accessible to readers next to your published article online.
For more information, visit the Mendeley Data for journals page.
Data in Brief
You have the option of converting any or all parts of your supplementary or additional raw data into
one or multiple data articles, a new kind of article that houses and describes your data. Data articles
ensure that your data is actively reviewed, curated, formatted, indexed, given a DOI and publicly
available to all upon publication. You are encouraged to submit your article for Data in Brief as an
additional item directly alongside the revised version of your manuscript. If your research article is
accepted, your data article will automatically be transferred over to Data in Brief where it will be
editorially reviewed and published in the open access data journal, Data in Brief. Please note an open
access fee is payable for publication in Data in Brief. Full details can be found on the Data in Brief
website. Please use this template to write your Data in Brief.
ARTICLE ENRICHMENTS
AudioSlides
The journal encourages authors to create an AudioSlides presentation with their published article.
AudioSlides are brief, webinar-style presentations that are shown next to the online article on
ScienceDirect. This gives authors the opportunity to summarize their research in their own words
and to help readers understand what the paper is about. More information and examples are
available. Authors of this journal will automatically receive an invitation e-mail to create an AudioSlides
presentation after acceptance of their paper.
Antibody data
Antibody Data is the reference application linking to information about the antibodies mentioned in
the article, based on the NIF Antibody Registry. Authors are encouraged to include relevant antibody
identifiers in their articles (e.g. Antibody Registry: AB_878537 or RRID: AB_878537) if appropriate.
More information.
Interactive plots
This journal enables you to show an Interactive Plot with your article by simply submitting a data
file. Full instructions.
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Virtual Microscope
The journal encourages authors to supplement in-article microscopic images with corresponding high
resolution versions for use with the Virtual Microscope viewer. The Virtual Microscope is a web based
viewer that enables users to view microscopic images at the highest level of detail and provides
features such as zoom and pan. This feature for the first time gives authors the opportunity to
share true high resolution microscopic images with their readers. More information and examples.
Authors of this journal will receive an invitation e-mail to create microscope images for use with
the Virtual Microscope when their manuscript is first reviewed. If you opt to use the feature, please
contact [email protected] for instructions on how to prepare and upload the required
high resolution images.
AFTER ACCEPTANCE
Online proof correction
Corresponding authors will receive an e-mail with a link to our online proofing system, allowing
annotation and correction of proofs online. The environment is similar to MS Word: in addition to
editing text, you can also comment on figures/tables and answer questions from the Copy Editor.
Web-based proofing provides a faster and less error-prone process by allowing you to directly type
your corrections, eliminating the potential introduction of errors.
If preferred, you can still choose to annotate and upload your edits on the PDF version. All instructions
for proofing will be given in the e-mail we send to authors, including alternative methods to the online
version and PDF.
We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Please use this
proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and
figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this
stage with permission from the Editor. It is important to ensure that all corrections are sent back
to us in one communication. Please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent
corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility.
Offprints
The corresponding author will, at no cost, receive a customized Share Link providing 50 days free
access to the final published version of the article on ScienceDirect. The Share Link can be used
for sharing the article via any communication channel, including email and social media. For an
extra charge, paper offprints can be ordered via the offprint order form which is sent once the
article is accepted for publication. Both corresponding and co-authors may order offprints at any
time via Elsevier's Webshop. Corresponding authors who have published their article open access do
not receive a Share Link as their final published version of the article is available open access on
ScienceDirect and can be shared through the article DOI link.
Additional information
Gene and protein nomenclature
The journal supports the use of the official nomenclature for genes and proteins and discourages the
use of outdated and incorrectly formatted names and symbols. To this end, we encourage authors
before submission to confirm the current official name and/or symbol for all genes and proteins
mentioned in their articles following the guidelines listed in the following online resources:
Arabidopsis: The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) - nomenclature guidelines Chicken:
Chicken Gene Nomenclature Consortium (CGNC) Drosophila: FlyBase -nomenclature guidelines
Human: Human Gene Nomenclature Committee (HUGO) Mouse: Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI) Mouse nomenclature guidelines Nematodes: WormBase - nomenclature guidelines Rat: Rat Genome
Database (RGD) - Rat nomenclature guidelines Xenopus: Xenbase - Xenopus nomenclature guidelines
Yeast: Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD) - nomenclature guidelines Zebrafish: ZFIN Zebrafish nomenclature guidelines
AUTHOR INQUIRIES
Visit the Elsevier Support Center to find the answers you need. Here you will find everything from
Frequently Asked Questions to ways to get in touch.
You can also check the status of your submitted article or find out when your accepted article will
be published.
© Copyright 2014 Elsevier | http://www.elsevier.com
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